FIG. 1 illustrates a traditional grid table that is used for laser cutting operations. The grids 9 which provide toothed bridges for the blank support that sits across the table, are consumable structures and act only as a bottom support for the blank parts. Other than by the weight of the workpiece and the friction force on the teeth of the grid table, such prior art grids 9 do not hold the material down and in place during the actual cutting of the flat metal plate 10 along the cutting line 11 as the metal plate 10 progresses along the path of cutting 12, as shown in FIG. 2. This can lead to cutting and/or quality issues when, for instance, the material's surface moves during cutting due to residual stress, or mechanical stress and/or thermal stress induced in the material during the actual cutting. Furthermore, the teeth of the support-grid structure are sometimes on the cutting path of the laser beam. As a result, this can sometimes yield cutting quality defects such as burr, dross, loss of cut, gouging, etc. Accordingly, there is a need to provide a support table frame that overcomes these problems encountered in laser cutting operations.